Lincoln Agritech Limited funded Research Programmes

We will establish a new manufacturing sector creating smart keratin biopolymer materials and downstream products, derived from wool keratin, answering international demands for natural materials that perform as well or better than synthetics. We project annual returns of >$200M by 2040, based on exports of NZ-manufactured thermal control membranes and associated garments, products that control the release of microbes in soil, textile fibres superior to silk and associated garments, and ruminant boluses for controlling GHG emissions. A wealth of additional product opportunities will flow from the new manufacturing industries and capability developed from our new keratin regeneration processes.

To do this, we will discover new knowledge about the behaviour and control of keratin as a material with our focus being to maintain the uniquely complex structure of keratin as it occurs in wool, which leads to remarkable properties, including warmth, strength and moisture management. We anticipate adding smart properties to keratin materials by maintaining keratin’s complex protein structure, such as reversible shape and volume change and controlled breakdown.

Our team from Lincoln Agritech, Harvard University, University of Auckland and AgResearch, brings world leading expertise in keratin science, smart material response, wool fibre and product development and commercialisation to tackle the challenge of creating a new keratin-based industry solve the world’s sustainability crisis.

We know that the ocean surface is becoming more acidic because of atmospheric CO2 emissions. However, there is currently little awareness of the impact of atmospheric CO2 on freshwater. We suggest that freshwater is not only acidifying faster than the oceans, but is being ecologically restructured by CO2 increases. Through this programme, we will be the first globally to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of increased atmospheric CO2 on freshwater ecosystems.

The Waikato River system will be our exemplar, in which we investigate the effects of atmospheric CO2 on algae, on kākahi (a keystone species and mahinga kai for Māori), on nutrient availability, and via nutrient-changes on the development of harmful algal blooms. We will deploy new methods to monitor water quality, and construct a process-based model validated through intensive monitoring of the river. Using data from international climate forecasts and our process-based ecosystem model, we will predict future algal growth responses and the likely effectiveness of interventions to maintain freshwater quality, in the face of increasing atmospheric CO2. We will work with Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Maniapoto, and Ngāti Tahu – Ngāti Whaoa, as kaitiaki of the Waikato River, to understand the impact of our scientific findings on management plans for the Waikato, and extend our knowledge to freshwater systems Aotearoa-NZ-wide.

Our team combines leading researchers with a wide range of skills from Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Cawthron Institute, Universities of Lincoln, Otago, Victoria, Waikato, Griffith, La Trobe, Tübingen, Uppsala, and Waikato Regional Council. Our relationship-based approach will support implementation of our findings by kaitiaki, including Iwi, Regional Councils and industry responsible for provision of water, to ensure New Zealanders can drink, swim in, and gather food from our freshwater.

We propose to revolutionise the global fibre industry through development of a completely new, and environmentally low impact, approach to extracting cellulose from plants grown in New Zealand, such as harakeke, totara and Pinus radiata to produce regenerated cellulose fibres for textile use. Understanding the novel science of cellulose dissolution and regeneration will underpin the development of this manufacturing solution and will provide an environmentally superior alternative to current synthetic and cellulose fibres, well established as being of high environmental cost. Our goal is to develop the basis for a new industry exporting a substantial volume of regenerated cellulose fibres derived from dedicated plantations and diverting current streams of lower value or waste cellulose material, and to foster the development of high-end textiles made by New Zealand designers with embedded mātauranga Māori. The new industry will support regional economies which will produce and process the bioresource and manufacture the fibres.

Mentored by Dr G A Carnaby (CNZM) and using well established connections to the global textile sector, our team of scientists from Lincoln Agritech Ltd, The Ferrier Institute, SCION and AgResearch will work in partnership with Ngāti Whare and Ngā For more information, contact Dr Rob Kelly at Lincoln Agritech Limited rob.kelly@lincolnagritech.co.nz